Sheet-feeding mechanism



y 14, 1929' G. BORGESON 1,712,546

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM Filed March 12, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESS INVENTOE WM I gusTavBor e15 ATTORNEY,

y 14, 1929- G. BORGESON SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM 2 sheets-sheet Filed March 12, 1928 usTm/ 50113 1 Patented May 14, 1929.

UNITED STATES GUSTAV BOBGESON, F SYRACUSE, YORK.

SHEET-FEEDING- MECHANISM.

Application filed March 12, 1928. Serial No. 260,852..

, This invention relates to sheet feeding mechanism in which sheets arefed edgewise one after another from the top of a stack of sheets, as in ser ing sheets to a printing machine. The object is to provide a sheet feeding mechanism of-this class whichshall be of simple construction and reliable in operation and in which the sheets will be handled without disturbance of the stack and 0 without the rubbing of the sheets on each other, which in some instances of the appl1 cation of the mechanism, as in serving lithographing or printing machines operating on the sheets in sequence, would injure the sheets by obliterating or marring whatis already printed thereon.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation'of the improved mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a plan;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation;

Figs. land 5 are a rear elevation and a plan, partly in section, of one of the suctioncontrolling valves; and

Fig. 6 a side elevation of a certain clip or detent for the carriage.

Let 1 designate the intake rolls of a printing press a portion of whose frame is indicated at 2 and may have a table or equivalent 3 for the stack A of sheets to be fed one after another to the rolls 1. The support afforded by the frame and table may carry or include pairs of brackets 5, one pair at each side of the stack, and, secured in each such pair, a shaft 6, such shafts affording a guideway for a carria e.

This carriage 3 may be a flat bar having end guides 7 apertured' to receive and slide on said guideway and also end trunnions 7 to which are connected the levers 8 by-which through pitmen 9 the carriage is connected with crank pins 10 on crank disks 10 of a rotating shaft 11 of the'press, whereby the carriage is reciprocated on the guideway when the press is operating; for a urpose to appear each lever has an upward y open notch 8 receiving the trunnionil", being thus forked, so that the connection between the rectilineally moving carriage and the oscillating lever is a sliding one.

Suction elements are mounted on the carriagei Each of these includes, slidable vertically in a tubular upstanding guide 12 having its basalflange 12 secured to the bar of ,,"ja;i '1d thus forming in effect a part of the cars .riage, system-13 and a cup 13 'on the lower end of the stem; each suction element is normally held elevated clear of the stack A by a spiral spring 14 housed in the guide and interposed between shoulders 15 and 16 of the carriage and stem, respectively, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. Each stem has a port 13 leading upwardly from its cup to a nipple 13, andit also has at the top'an antifriction roller 13 The carriage is equipped with a suction controlling valve whose valve casing 18 has its valve chamber provided on the one hand with an exhaust port in a nipple 18 by which, through a flexible tube 19, the valve chamber may be connected with suit-able exhaust means, and on the other hand with intake ports in nipples 18 which maybe connected with the nipples 13 of the suction elements by flexible tubes 19; the valve casing also has a port 18 leading to the atmosphere. The valve proper 20, projecting from the casing, is normally held in the position forpermitting flow through the easing from the suction appliances to the exhaust means by a spiral spring 21 interposed between its head 20 and the valve casing; when it is pressed inward it will close off the communication through the valve casing (see Fig. 5) and place the suction elements in communication with the, atmosphere via When the carriage recedes (moves to the right) the suction devices are depressed into suction contact with the topmost sheet, and when it moves forward they must be permitted to rise to lift the sheet from the stack. For this purpose there is a depresser (here in effect a lever structure) for the suction devices which is actuated by the levers 8 and comprises a rock-shaft 22 journaled in the, two rearward brackets 5, a pair of cams 23 thereon-which overhang the suction devices when in the rearward portions of their movements, and a pair of crank arms 24 having rollers 24* to assume the thrust of the levers 8 as they swing back. When, following depression of the suction devices by the levers 8 acting through the depresser,"

the levers begin to return to advance the carriage and hence the topmost sheet adhering to the suction devices, the latter are caused by springs 14 to rise (incidentally resetting the depresser) and lift the sheet clear of the stack; the nip of the intake rolls is in a lower plane than that assumed by the acting faces of the fully elevated suction cups, but the sheet as shown is gripped by tion, what I claim from a sheet stack, the combination of a.

the suction devices near its rear edge, and so its weight bends it downward so that its forward edge is more or less 0 posite the nip of the rolls. Upon the s eet being caught by the intake rolls 1 the valves pro er 20 encounter adjustable stops 25 on t e brackets 5 and the suction is cut off and the cups being put in communication with the atmosphere at 18 the sheet is released by the suction elements.

When the suction'elements are depressed against the topmost sheet they should not be undergoing movement in the rearward direction or the stack will be disturbed. Hence, about when the levers 8' begin to effect depression of the suction elements they cease to repress the carriage, which thereupon stops, this being effected by form- ,ing the forward portions of the forks of the levers (see Fig. 1) shorter than their rearward portions so that at the proper point the trunnions 7 are cleared. The carriage may be brought to a positive stop by studs 7 thereon engaging clips such as that shown in F ig. 6 comprising two jaws 26--27 of which jaw 26 is fixed to a portion of one of the rear brackets 5 by a screw28 and the other jaw is pivoted on the screw and is pressed toward the fixed clip by a spring 29 interposed between jaw 26 and the head of a stem 30 penetrating both clips and having support at 31 on the fixed clip.

To prevent failure of feed due to possible failure of the suction-grip to hold during forward feeding of the sheet I provide pivoted detents 32. These may rise pivota lly from but are stopped from fall below the position thereof shown in Fig. 1. They are pivoted in rebent arms 32 secured to the carriage by screws 33 penetrating slots 34 1n the arms extending lengthwise of the path of movement of the carriage, so that the detents may be adjusted correspondingly. When a sheet islifted its rear ed e trips the 'detents upward and passing the same is positioned to be held elevated by the detents if the suction grip should fail.

The top of the stack 1s assumed in the foregoing to be kept in some way always at about the same level (minor departures therefrom being taken care of by the cups 13, which are yielding), say by ,utilizin a table which is automatically elevated as ast as the sheets are withdrawn, such bein unnecessary of description hereinsince it orms no part of the present invention andis further well known in the art. a

Having thus fully described inven- 1 In a mechanism for removing sheets substantially horizontally andjin succession support having a substantially horizontal guideway, a reciprocatory carriage movable along the guideway, meansin the carriage to remove a sheet from the stack on each reciprocation of the carriage, and means to reciprocate the carriage including an oscillating lever fulcrumed on a substantially horizontal axis extending transversely of the path of travel of the carriage and havmg a direct sliding connection with the carriage consistingof a trunnion on the carriage and a longitudinal slot receiving the trunnion and formed in the lever.

2. In a mechanism for removing sheets substantially horizontally and in succession from the top of a sheet stack, the combination of-a support,.a substantially horizontally reciprocatory carriage movable on the support over the stack, means to grip the topmost sheet in the stack movable in the carriage downward to grip such sheet and then upwardly, and means to cause the downward and upward movement of the gripping means including a cam arranged on the support to be engaged by the grippin means at one point in the movement of t e latter with said carriage.

3. In a mechanism for removing sheets substantially horizontally and in succession from. the top of a sheet stack, the combination of a support, a reciprocatory system movable on the support over the stack, means to grip'the topmost sheet in the stack movable in said system downward to grip such sheet and then upwardly, and means to cause the downward and upward movement of the gri ping means including a lever structure ulcrumed in the support and adapted to be moved on its fulcrum by said system when the latter moves in one direction and thereupon to engage and move the gripping means in one of the up-anddown directions.

4. In a mechanism for removing sheets substantially horizontally and in succession from the top of a sheet stack, the combination of a support, a substantiall horizontally reciprocatory carriage mova le on the support, over the stack, means to'grip the topmost sheet in the stack movable in the carriage downward to gri such sheet and then upwardly and norma ly held upward, and means to cause the downward movement of the gripping means including a cam arranged on the support to be engaged by the gripping means atone point .m the movement of the latter with said carriage.

5. In' a mechanism for removing sheets substantially horizontally and in succession from the top of a sheet stack, the combination of a support, a reciprocator system movable on the support over t e stack, means to grip the topmost sheet in the stack movable in said system downward to grip such sheet and then upwardly and normally held upward, and means to cause the downward movement of the gri ping means including a lever structure fl crumed in the llU support andadapted to be moved on its fulcrum by said system when the latter moves in one direction and thereupon to engage and move the gripping means down- "Ward.

6.111 a mechanism for removing sheets substantially horizontally and in succession from thetop of a sheet stack, the combination of a support, a carriage movable in the support to a position over the stack, means movable downward in the-carriage to grip the topmost sheet, means tomove said carriage to said position movable to a given limit andadapted to clear the carriage before such limit is reached, and means, actuated by the last-named means after clearing the carriage and before such limit is reached, to depress the gripping means.

.7. In a mechanism for removing sheets substantially horizontally and in succession from the top of a sheet stack, the co'mbina tion of a support, a carriage movable in the support to a position over the stack,

means movable downward in the carriage to grip the to most sheet, means to check (position,

irection the carriage w en it'reaches said and means movable in a given first to move the carriage to said position and then depress the gripping means.

8. In 'a mechanism for removing sheets substantially horizontally and in succession from the top of a sheet stack, the combination of a support," a carriage movable in the support substantially horizontally in a given direction from a position over the stack, sheet-gripping meansin the carriage movable upward'm the carriage to lift the topmost sheet in the stack, said carriage having 2. depending portion relatively rearward of such sheet, and a detent normally projecting from said portion in said direction and in a overhanging relation to the rear edge of the stack and pivotally movable upward and adapted to be passed by said sheet on lifting thereof by said means.

In testimony whereof I afllx my signature;

GUSTAV BORGESON. j 

